Director abused 4 Bounce Back Loans

A Rotherham-based director used the Covid-19 support system to acquire 4 Bounce Back Loans totalling a staggering £200,000. Stephen Burke, aged 63, provided false information on multiple application forms to secure 4 maxed-out BBLs.

How did he acquire four Bounce Back Loans?

Burke was previously the director of 4 businesses working in the construction and planning industry, all of which he applied for BBLs:

• Richmond Brokers Limited
• Yorkshire Site Preparation Limited
• Yorkshire Plant Hire and Sales
• Woodhouse Civil Engineering Limited 

Burke would use each company he was the sole director of to apply for the maximum BBL available. He provided false information on the application forms to state the annual turnover of each business was between £200,000 and £320,000. In reality, his turnover in 2020 showed that his most profitable company had only made £3,400. By lying about the turnover of each business, he was able to secure the max sum for each of the four Bounce Back Loans.

How was the money spent?

After lying to get his BBLs, it’s not surprising that this money was never invested back into his businesses. In fact, Burke would use this loan to repay an outstanding personal loan he had with his former partner. The £174,000 repayment to his former partner would breach further conditions of the loan, as the funds can only go towards legitimate business expenditures.

The Insolvency Service 

When Burke tried to dissolve all four companies in February 2021, he drew the attention of The Insolvency Service. The Insolvency Service would find that Burke was attempting to not only dissolve multiple companies that owed money to TSB, HSBC and Yorkshire Bank but that each company had fraudulent turnover reports. One of them was actually dormant prior to receiving the loan.  

His attempt to dissolve his companies consequently was denied due to his outstanding BBLs being flagged. Instead, each business has entered into liquidation and Stephen Burke has received an 11-year disqualification.

His ban began on the 4th of August 2022 and will last at least 11 years. As for what the ban entails, Burke cannot directly, or indirectly, become involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the court’s permission.

The Insolvency Service issued a statement 

Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at The Insolvency Service, addressed the case last month and took no time to respond. 

“Stephen Burke not only sought to defraud the Bounce Back Loan scheme for personal gain but then sought to cover his tracks by dissolving the companies he’d used.” Clarke then went on to describe the case as being one of “abhorrent conduct” which “has rightly resulted in a lengthy ban, removing his ability to trade with the benefit of limited liability until 2033.”

Read another story of Bounce Back Loan abuse: Financial Consultant disqualified for abusing BBLs 

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